Those were some of the messages from the Parenting Beyond Belief seminar yesterday, conducted by Dale McGowan (thank you again Dale, it was great!). The event was well attended by parents wanting to get tips and information on parenting Freethinking kids in a (predominantly) religious culture. Some of the key messages included:

1) You are not alone - the good news: the percentage of people identifying themselves as 'non-religious' has grown massively over the last 2 decades and projecting trends out further, this growth is likely to continue

2) Have confidence: Religion brings with it centuries of advice and tradition in how bring up kids. Religious parents receive their confidence from knowing that their actions can be measured by this tradition. Freethinking parents do not have such a yardstick. However - have confidence that if you bring up your kids to make good choices, to care for others, they will turn out to be good kids. Dale showed us that many studies confirm that kids all develop a moral compass about the same time in life, no matter where they are born or what religion (or lack of) they are born in to.

3) Relax. Parents of Freethinking kids are far more likely to become upset and overbearing if their kids are challenged by their peers about religion. But don't worry - your kids are far better at handling this than you are!

4) Make sure your kids are religiously literate. The biggest challenge a parent may face is their teenager having the 'relgious epiphany' when they are struggling with questions of identity and larger questions of life. If a teenager has never had exposure to any religion he or she is far more likely to be swayed by their peers than if they have grounding in many religions - and understand how all religions are equally silly on many levels.

Just a few points  ... but this is was an incredibly rich and useful seminar with many practical hints and personal stories from bringing up his own kids.

For more information on the Free Thought - Free Kids group, please contact us at ftfk@freethinkerscs.com